News: 6th March 2015

Year 12 Business visit to Mini in Oxford

Business trip review

We arrived at Mini Headquarters at around 8:30 eager to learn about production, quality and stock control. We were met by some lovely staff (especially Terry). We were then asked to get ready for one of the biggest insights into a worldwide supplier we had ever seen, kitted out in our lovely black coats and safety goggles!

Firstly we got to see some of the cars on show at the factory, some of us were amazed by the quality of the vehicles on display at the Mini factory in Oxford.

After this we went down to the shop floor. We saw robots the like none of us had ever seen before, imported from Germany. ‘The factory was like an indoor theme park’- Billy Rushin stated when touring the premises.

Shortly after, we went into another factory on the site which was focused on finishing off the wonderful minis. We were ordered to stay inside the green line for safety reasons, as they had many yellow robots floating above the surface. We learnt how they fit the windows, doors and the headlights, some being done by hand and others by the ‘robots’.

Overall the trip was a fantastic experience showing us how top suppliers maintain quality at a high speed of production, with a car being finished every 62 seconds. Thank you to the staff at Mini for showing us around and the Ranelagh business department for taking us. One of our year has stated he has ordered a new mini since returning from the trip.